as in supernova
astronomy
a star that suddenly increases greatly in brightness and then within a few months or years becomes less bright again
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Recent Examples of nova
Even though novas are exceptionally bright, supernovas are brighter—reaching billions of times brighter than the sun at their peak.
—
Elizabeth Gamillo, Smithsonian Magazine, 3 July 2025
To get a separate measure of how unusual this is, the researchers placed 8 million novas around the center of the galaxy, with the distribution being random but biased to match the galaxy's brightness under the assumption that novas will be more frequent in areas with more stars.
—John Timmer, Ars Technica, 27 Sep. 2024
Elizabeth Gamillo, Smithsonian Magazine, 3 July 2025
To get a separate measure of how unusual this is, the researchers placed 8 million novas around the center of the galaxy, with the distribution being random but biased to match the galaxy's brightness under the assumption that novas will be more frequent in areas with more stars.
—John Timmer, Ars Technica, 27 Sep. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nova
Noun
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Instead, the collapse results in a faint supernova with significant fallback, in which the heavier elements from the star’s core, such as oxygen, are sucked back past the event horizon and trapped in the black hole beneath.—
Jacek Krywko,
ArsTechnica,
13 May 2026
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Yet, others reach our planet after being thrust into space in distant supernova explosions (the final blasts of stars that run out of fuel in their cores).—
Tereza Pultarova,
Space.com,
13 May 2026
Noun
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The source is a pulsar wind nebula (PWN) powered by the pulsar PSR J1849-0001, located in the constellation Aquila.—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
Interesting Engineering,
26 Apr. 2026
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That means a pulsar doesn't have to be perfectly aligned with Earth to be observed via its radio emissions.—
Robert Lea,
Space.com,
3 Apr. 2026
Noun
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In the case of this Einstein Cross, the gravitational lens is the galaxy J1453g in near-perfect alignment with Earth and a distant quasar, the active region at the heart of the galaxy, which is powered by a feeding supermassive black hole.—
Robert Lea,
Space.com,
14 Apr. 2026
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The team spotted the distant quasar, an actively feeding supermassive black hole, using observations from the Subaru Telescope.—
Georgina Jedikovska,
Interesting Engineering,
23 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Across defense and space, propulsion is no longer a background variable but a primary driver of mission capability.—
David Szondy
May 17,
New Atlas,
17 May 2026
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Trust has become a key variable that determines whether brands are chosen and retained.—
Georg Ell,
Forbes.com,
15 May 2026
Noun
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Located 7,200 light-years away, Cygnus X-1 features not only a black hole — the first one ever identified more than a half-century ago — but a blue supergiant star, its constant companion.—
Marcia Dunn,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Apr. 2026
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However, in 2014, the appearance of this supergiant began to change.—
Robert Lea,
Space.com,
26 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Now, however, the team behind the new research believes the events are caused when a compact stellar remnant, like a black hole or a neutron star, slams into the universe's hottest class of star, massive stellar bodies called Wolf-Rayet stars.—
Robert Lea,
Space.com,
8 May 2026
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Gamma rays are the most energetic type of light rays, typically marking the last gasp of a dying star or the cataclysmic clap of two neutron stars.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
6 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Nova.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nova. Accessed 21 May. 2026.
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